It can seem that way in Congress these days as Republicans bring their new budget resolution to the House floor next week, hoping to push the reset button on Medicare reform and score a trifecta by rewriting the debt deal struck with President Barack Obama last August.

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Leading the charge is House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who is most passionate about getting Washington refocused on long-range entitlement changes. But to protect himself on the right, the Wisconsin Republican risks taking the House in the opposite direction, back to the same divisive fights over appropriations that consumed much of last year.

In a single stroke, Ryan would unilaterally lower the spending caps set for 2013, shift billions more to defense than prescribed under the 2011 Budget Control Act and roll back across-the-board spending cuts due in January by substituting a new formula — also designed to shield the Pentagon.

Even Obama is beginning to wake up to the threat to nondefense spending.

Jeff Zients, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, devoted most of his comments on the Ryan budget to the appropriations issue this week. And in an orchestrated effort at congressional hearings, Cabinet secretaries have begun to more aggressively explain what future cuts can mean to important services.

All this comes in an atmosphere where the White House and Speaker John Boehner — egged along by major newspapers — are still fighting over who walked away from the bargaining table first last summer in their doomed attempt to strike the fabled grand bargain of deficit reduction.

The Washington Post weighed in last Sunday with its reconstruction of the long hot nights. The New York Times is due out next week. POLITICO has added to the circus by trying to keep score: “Debt story tally: Boehner 1, Obama 0,” read a recent headline.

It’s very much in Washington’s character to worry about what might have been — instead of what’s in front of it.

But given the political fascination with who walked away last summer, it’s striking how much is still going on — seven months before November’s election.

These weren’t small items in the talks. Indeed, the split between defense and nondefense appropriations was one of the very last issues resolved before Boehner signed off with the president on the debt-limit agreement. Yet the House resolution now wants Obama to accept an additional 5 percent, $27.3 billion cut in nondefense spending — on top of what the Budget Control Act called for last summer.

Ryan tells CBO to assume his tax plan will raise revenues to 19 percent of GDP and then hold them there. He tells them to assume his Medicare plan will hold cost growth in Medicare to GDP+0.5 percentage points. He tells them to assume that spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program won’t grow any faster than inflation. He tells them to assume that all federal spending aside from Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will fall from 12.5 percent of GDP in 2011 to 3.75 percent of GDP in 2050.

It’s that last assumption, perhaps, that shows most clearly how unlikely Ryan’s specified budget path is. He’s saying that in 2050, spending on defense, on food stamps, on infrastructure, on education, on research and development, on the federal workforce, and everything other non-entitlement program combined will be less than four percentage points of GDP.

Consider that defense spending has never fallen below three percentage points of GDP, and Mitt Romney has promised to keep it above four percentage points of GDP. Ryan has not outlined a realistic goal.

If the president put out a budget with this level of detail and these kinds of assumptions,” says Michael Linden, who directs tax and budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, “people would be up in arms about how ridiculous it is".

The conservative Club for Growth is unhappy with the whole arrangement. “This is now more than a fiscal problem. It’s a credibility issue,” said one official.

Maybe the idiots at the Club for Growth should take a look at the Senate Dem's budget? Oh, that's right! It doesn't exist! Or, how 'bout the President's budget that never puts a dent in the red ink or debt for as far as a creative bean counter can see? The liberals are engaging in fiscal malpractice on a galactic scale and these ignoramuses talk about a "credibility issue" Somebody make a commercial with these numbskulls pushing us over a cliff.

Ryan tells CBO to assume his tax plan will raise revenues to 19 percent of GDP and then hold them there. He tells them to assume his Medicare plan will hold cost growth in Medicare to GDP+0.5 percentage points. He tells them to assume that spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program won’t grow any faster than inflation. He tells them to assume that all federal spending aside from Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will fall from 12.5 percent of GDP in 2011 to 3.75 percent of GDP in 2050.

It’s that last assumption, perhaps, that shows most clearly how unlikely Ryan’s specified budget path is. He’s saying that in 2050, spending on defense, on food stamps, on infrastructure, on education, on research and development, on the federal workforce, and everything other non-entitlement program combined will be less than four percentage points of GDP.

Consider that defense spending has never fallen below three percentage points of GDP, and Mitt Romney has promised to keep it above four percentage points of GDP. Ryan has not outlined a realistic goal.

If the president put out a budget with this level of detail and these kinds of assumptions,” says Michael Linden, who directs tax and budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, “people would be up in arms about how ridiculous it is".

The Drudge Report has the President of the United of Amertca with the word NI------ER above his a picture The Drudge Report is a mouthpiece of Rommey Is this the way it's going to go.Dead Blacks all over the U.S.all just accidents. You cons really think everyone are all fools.

If the president put out a budget with this level of detail and these kinds of assumptions,” says Michael Linden, who directs tax and budget policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, “people would be up in arms about how ridiculous it is".

Where is the liberal angst with regards to the President's budget? Where is the corrupt MSM to tell us about all the horrors of the Obama budget? Again, from Robert Samuelson's 2/15/2012 column:

This looks like typical liberal gibberish following confrontation with the facts.

No, it looks like typical Robert Samuelson being sloppy with his own facts.

Example 2 :

When Keynes wrote “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” in the mid-1930s, governments in most wealthy nations were relatively small and their debts modest. Deficit spending and pump priming were plausible responses to economic slumps.

Ganon: "The budget Obama Administration's projects that discretionary spending will fall from 5.2% to 3.4% of GDP, by 2022."....................Really? How? If Obama administration budget projects are correct in this matter, it would be the first time. The shortfall figures from the CBO for the Affordable Care Act alone have been revised upward to over a trillion in less than a month from the last CBO pronouncement - just last month - that had the shortfall at somewhat less. In short, the original projections were grossly misleading, and it's only gotten worse with time. Reality is vastly different than Obama administration projections, and that applies to far more than just health care.

"Paul Ryan budget goes there again". Yep. It goes somewhere the Senate fears to tread. IT'S A BUDGET!! I think it's more than three years since the Senate leadership has brought a budget to the floor - have there even been committee hearings?

And before people jump down my throat, it only takes a simple majority to pass a budget in the Senate and there is no filibuster. Even if filibustering were allowed, do it. Make the people blocking the bill hold the floor 24/7. It might be entertaining - and the Senate leadership gets nothing done anyhow.

For a compromise to occur, first there must be something with which to compromise. The House presents its' proposal, probably will this year too. Where is the Senate proposal? Mr. Reid?

I heard a General once said, even if you want to install clean water system in a third world town, you must first ask the locals for input. I have read, if you want to adopt new house rules for your teens, you should ask for input. In both examples above, even experts are surprised how strict the rules they will apply onto themselves. I believe I have read something like 70 percent of Medicare spending is apply to the last 12 months of people's lives. Many times, people are on feeding and air tubes stuck in hospital beds. Many will agree, this is no way they will want to live the waning weeks of their lives. Can new "living wills" programs be set up for people? Should they ask for input from people, if they are willing to sign onto these new "living wills" programs? Can a new Financial instrument be set up, so some money can be contributed to these new funds? Perhaps patients could assign their grandkids as beneficiaries. Then If people are willing to buy into these new "living wills", some funds can be donated to these new financial instruments. Besides, these new "living wills" will prevent people from requiring them to live in such conditions, mentioned above. Does starting new "living wills" programs make any sense? Should organizing many town halls be done, to ask for input, to this or other programs make any sense as well?

The People’s Budget eliminates the deficit in 10 years, puts Americans back to work and restores our economic competitiveness. The People’s Budget recognizes that in order to compete, our nation needs every American to be productive, and in order to be productive we need to raise our skills to meet modern needs.

Our Budget Eliminates the Deficit and Raises a $31 Billion Surplus In Ten Years Our budget protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and responsibly eliminates the deficit by targeting its main drivers: the Bush Tax Cuts, the wars overseas, and the causes and effects of the recent recession.

Our Budget Puts America Back to Work & Restores America’s Competitiveness • Trains teachers and restores schools; rebuilds roads and bridges and ensures that users help pay for them • Invests in job creation, clean energy and broadband infrastructure, housing and R&D programs

Our Budget Creates a Fairer Tax System • Ends the recently passed upper-income tax cuts and lets Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of 2012 • Extends tax credits for the middle class, families, and students • Creates new tax brackets that range from 45% starting at $1 million to 49% for $1 billion or more • Implements a progressive estate tax • Eliminates corporate welfare for oil, gas, and coal companies; closes loopholes for multinational corporations • Enacts a financial crisis responsibility fee and a financial speculation tax on derivatives and foreign exchange

Our Budget Safeguards Social Security for the Next 75 Years • Eliminates the individual Social Security payroll cap to make sure upper income earners pay their fair share • Increases benefits based on higher contributions on the employee side